bdon661
New member
All:
I recently acquired NC86916, a very pretty 1946 14-13 that was part of the Richard Hulme collection in Santa Maria, CA for many years. Mr. Hulme passed last year and the collection is being sold off. The Bellanca had been inactive for many years, but Mr. Hulme was a stickler for detail and kept the airplane (and the rest of the collection) in a magnificent hangar with no expense spared for upkeep.
After closing the deal on the airplane, I had to get it back in service. An extensive pre-buy turned into an annual inspection and I was surprised at the relatively short discrepancy list. But I had limited time to get the airplane back in service and could not have done it without a lot of help. A huge THANK YOU goes out to Dan Cullman, Susan at Franklin Engine Parts, Chris Callum at Airworx, and some very talented local mechanics - George, Sehon, Jose, and the Foley's. The initial test flight of NC86916 took place on Thursday, March 5 and would not have been the safe and relatively uneventful affair that it was without the help of these dedicated professionals. They took weekend calls, provided excellent advice, and were extraordinarily generous with their time and expertise. They are what aviation is all about.
If any of you would like to follow the story of my Bellanca, please go to http://www.aerialvisuals.ca and type NC86916 in the Airframe Database search line. FWIW, this is an excellent aviation enthusiast site for those of us who don't do Facebook.
I recently acquired NC86916, a very pretty 1946 14-13 that was part of the Richard Hulme collection in Santa Maria, CA for many years. Mr. Hulme passed last year and the collection is being sold off. The Bellanca had been inactive for many years, but Mr. Hulme was a stickler for detail and kept the airplane (and the rest of the collection) in a magnificent hangar with no expense spared for upkeep.
After closing the deal on the airplane, I had to get it back in service. An extensive pre-buy turned into an annual inspection and I was surprised at the relatively short discrepancy list. But I had limited time to get the airplane back in service and could not have done it without a lot of help. A huge THANK YOU goes out to Dan Cullman, Susan at Franklin Engine Parts, Chris Callum at Airworx, and some very talented local mechanics - George, Sehon, Jose, and the Foley's. The initial test flight of NC86916 took place on Thursday, March 5 and would not have been the safe and relatively uneventful affair that it was without the help of these dedicated professionals. They took weekend calls, provided excellent advice, and were extraordinarily generous with their time and expertise. They are what aviation is all about.
If any of you would like to follow the story of my Bellanca, please go to http://www.aerialvisuals.ca and type NC86916 in the Airframe Database search line. FWIW, this is an excellent aviation enthusiast site for those of us who don't do Facebook.
